In 1978, a 15-year-old Frank O’Connell walked through the employee entrance at Hersheypark in Derry Twp. for the first time.

He clocked in to work at the park that summer and never clocked out.

CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-News, 2006Frank O'Connell, general manager of Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, died suddently at 48..

This summer, O’Connell, as general manager for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Co., stood in front a group of reporters, lured to Hersheypark by the promise of the next big ride, named Skyrush.

It would be the park’s longest and tallest roller coaster, and, said O’Connell, “It’s going to be a blast. We’re really going to enjoy it.”

But O’Connell will never have the opportunity to ride it. He died of a heart attack Tuesday at age 48.

As news of his death spread through the local and amusement park communities Tuesday, he was remembered as a character in a profession of larger-than-life individuals, who still made time for family, friends and community service.

Fans remembered him as the man under whose watch Hersheypark, which could have become a sleepy, local amusement park, blossomed into one of the most respected such establishments in the country.

“Frank was immensely respected by his peers in the industry,” said Chip Cleary, CEO of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. “Hersheypark has a sterling reputation ... and Frank was a part of that reputation.”

O’Connell seemingly grew up around Hersheypark, from his start in 1978 as a food and beverage worker.

Over the next 33 years, he would work his way through the park’s employment structure, performing stints in janitorial, bookkeeping and information technology.

In 2000, he reached what appeared to be the pinnacle of the Hersheypark hierarchy when he was named general manger of the amusement park.

Hersheypark would never be the same.

Over the next decade, as O’Connell was promoted to general manager of Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, the park began to pick up the pace of a quiet revolution that had begun in the mid-1990s, adding marquee attractions such as the Boardwalk water park and the Fahrenheit and Stormrunner coasters.

Each time, O’Connell was there to announce the “next big thing” at Hersheypark.

O’Connell served on numerous boards in the industry group and was its treasurer for a time.

“I think Hersheypark has always stood for quality, family entertainment,” Cleary said. “Under Frank’s leadership, the park stayed true to its roots but wasn’t afraid to flex its muscle.”

Flexing its muscle included paying for major attractions and expanding the park into areas that it previously hadn’t been willing to touch, said B. Derek Shaw, a York resident and board member of the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archive.

“It’s a widely known fact that Hershey and Lancaster together are one of the top 10 tourist traps in the United States,” he said. “Frank and his team gave [the tourists] a reason to come back year after year.”

Shaw met O’Connell during the unveiling of the Roller Soaker ride in 2002, when the general manager asked Shaw to ride it with O’Connell’s wife.

“So I rode Roller Soaker to make good with the new G.M.,” he said with a laugh. “Frank was always a good guy who really loved the amusement park industry and all it’s virtues.”

But O’Connell’s drive went beyond simply the amusement park industry. He served as a Derry Twp. supervisor and volunteered at the local library.

“Those of us who knew Frank professionally recognized that he possessed the wonderful qualities of wisdom, strength, intelligence and compassion,” said Mindy Bianca, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts spokeswoman. “Those traits were matched by Frank’s deep commitment to family, friends and community.”

Bianca described him as an “inspirational leader” who also was a husband, father, family member, friend and co-worker.

“The qualities that he brought to us as both a person and a professional will be sorely missed by everyone in the Hershey family,” she said.

And O’Connell never stopped enjoying his work.

“It’s fun to be in this business,” he told The Patriot-News in 2008. “Not too many people get to build a roller coaster.”

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